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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Apple Pie

About 4 weeks ago, I arranged a "Field Trip" to Applewood Farm Winery with all of my bridesmaids, the boys and their kiddies!

It was such a gorgeous day outside. Perfect for apple picking and for a hay ride!

The apples were ready to be picked.

And the kids were ready to pick 'em! Just after our walk through the corn maze.

For the apple pie I baked, I used a combination of Macintosh and Granny Smith apples.

"Look what I got Mel!" exclaimed Riley.

While Addy enjoyed eating her apple in one hand...

And held her container of Goldfish in the other hand.

How much fun was this!?!

It's not too often that we all get to see each other.

Okay...onto the baking...

You're not going to believe this but my camera died just as I began baking for this post..Rrrrr...This meant that I was only able to photograph the beginning of this recipe. I didn't even have a picture of the final product!

Lots of butter!

This recipe calls for shortening; however butter can be replaced for half of the shortening.

Wash those apples. Although the skin is not used in the filling of the pie, it is important to wash the apples before peeling them, to rinse off any of the dirt from the surface. (My grandmother taught me that!)

I used one of my new gadgets! This apple slicer is one of three attachments in this set. The set is called the KitchenAid Multi Slicer and is great not only for apples, but the other attachments work well for cutting potatoes into fries.

I used some fresh lemon juice to keep the apples looking so white! Initially, I began cutting each wedge into slices. I quickly nixed that idea and used my food processor to slice the wedges. It does a much faster job that I do!

And that's it...bam...boom...crash...no compatibility with my card...oh my goodness! My camera suddenly stopped working! And...Rich wasn't even home to fix the problem...he was at hockey! Sorry everyone...No more pictures from this point on....but a delicious recipe follows below!

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening, using a pastry blender (or tossing with a fork) until particles are the size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves the side of the bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

Lightly sprinkle flour over a cutting board or countertop. Gather pastry into a ball. On the floured surface, divide pastry in half and shape into two flattened rounds. Wrap flattened rounds in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes or until pastry is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry flakier.

On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry rounds with a floured rolling pin into a circle that is 2 inches larger than an upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into quarters or roll pastry loosely around a rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate.

To finish preparing the pie, spoon filling (see recipe below) into pastry lined plate. Trim overhanging edge of bottom of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate. Roll other round of pastry. Place pastry over filling and trim overhanging edge. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal. Use a fork to make the edges look pretty! Finally, use a knife to cut 1/2 inch slits in the middle of the pie to allow the steam to escape during baking.

Pie

Prep time: 30 minutes

8 servings

Pastry for Two Crust Pie (see above recipe)

6 medium tart apples such as Granny Smith or McIntosh (I would add two more)

In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, he flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the apples. Spoon mixture into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over apples.

Cover with top pastry. Brush top pastry with 2 teaspoons of water, using a pastry brush; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cover edge of pastry with a 2-3 inch wide strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.

Bake 30 minutes; remove foil. Bake 10 to 20 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool on a cooling rack at least 2 hours.